Money laundering is as
old as money itself - and yet the laws designed to prevent it are as
ineffective as they have ever been.
Today's anti-money
laundering laws stop only a staggering 0.05 per cent of global illicit financial
flows, while significantly increasing the regulatory burden on legitimate
businesses and consumers. Fraudsters and criminals stay several steps ahead of
regulators, while it often costs governments more to execute forfeitures than
they reap from them. In short, it's abundantly clear that these laws, though
set up with the best of intentions, are not working.
Billions move around the
world in cash, gold and other assets every day without a trace. How to
Launder Money explains how and why, breaking down in delicious detail the
mechanics of money laundering - not to enable wrongdoing but to illuminate it,
to showcase the bent levers of finance and how they are pulled. While acknowledging
the challenges faced by law enforcement, it also provides concrete recommendations
on how to reduce the crime associated with money laundering, empowering
readers, professionals and policymakers to recognise vulnerabilities and
understand what truly works in the fight against financial crime.
The criminals already
know how to launder money; this is, in part, their inside story. This book is
for the rest of us, who want to know how the laws that are supposed to protect
us are in reality doing more damage than ever before.
